Ships and personnel from the US, Spain, Germany and France concluded the four-day Smart Defense Exercise (SMARTEX) on September 28. SMARTEX is a NATO initiative designed to enhance interoperability and training between participating countries. During the exercise, Spanish sailors embarked aboard the
The US Navy will commission Virginia-class fast attack submarine USS Indiana (SSN 789) in a ceremony at the Navy Port at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Port Canaveral, Florida, on Saturday. The principal speaker will be US Representative Jim Banks from Indiana. Diane Donald, wife of retired Adm
Groton-based shipbuilder General Dynamics Electric Boat has delivered the 17th Virginia-class submarine to the US Navy. The future USS South Dakota (SSN 790) was delivered in a ceremony on Sept. 24. The ship began construction in 2013 and is scheduled to commission in early 2019. South Dakota is the
US defense contractor L3 Technologies announced it has acquired unmanned surface vessel (USV) and autonomous vessel control systems company ASV Global. With this acquisition, L3 is expanding its unmanned vessel portfolio with anti-submarine warfare (ASW) solutions, unmanned off-board sensors and int
Virginia-class submarine USS California (SSN 781) wrapped up a six-month deployment, returning to her Groton homeport on Friday, Sept. 21. The nuclear-powered, fast-attack submarine, under the command of Cmdr. Dave Payne, California returned to her homeport of Naval Submarine Base, New London follow
The US State Department has approved the potential sale of six P-8A patrol aircraft to the Republic of Korea under an estimated $2.1 billion contract. South Korea’s decision to pick Boeing’s P-8A Poseidon as its new maritime patrol aircraft was made known in June this year. The P-8A would replace th
A US military exercise which will be joined by 15 surface ships and more than 160 aircraft kicked off on September 16 around the Marianas Island Range Complex and on Guam. Participants will include the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) and approximately 15,000 personnel from the US Navy, A
The US Navy’s Ohio-class ballistic-missile submarine USS Rhode Island (SSBN 740) returned to its homeport at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, on September 12, after successfully completing its first at-sea period in two-and-a-half years. Rhode Island recently wrapped up a 33-month engineered refuelin
The US Navy’s Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group (HSTCSG) and the Royal Canadian Navy are conducting bilateral operations in the North Atlantic from September 10 to 12. Commander, US Second Fleet, Vice Adm. Andrew Lewis embarked the strike group flagship, USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75), and the USS
F-35C Joint Strike Fighters are conducting first flight ops aboard an aircraft carrier ever as part of their Operational Test-1 (OT-1) on the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72). OT-1 evaluates the full spectrum of the F-35C’s suitability for operation within a carrier air wing and mission effectiveness to
Rear Adm. David A. Goggins relieved Rear Adm. Michael E. Jabaley as program executive officer (PEO) for submarines during a change of office ceremony at the Washington Navy Yard on August 17. As PEO, Goggins is responsible for developing, acquiring and modernizing the US Navy’s submarines and unders
The US Naval Sea Systems Command has awarded BAE Systems a $146.3 million contract for the modernization of Ticonderoga-class cruiser USS Gettysburg (CG 64). The cruiser modernization contract for BAE Systems is similar to the one awarded to GD NASSCO for the modernization of USS Cowpens (CG 63) on
A team of researchers has found the wreck of US Navy destroyer USS Abner Read on the bottom of the Bering Sea off the Aleutian island of Kiska, where it sank after being torn off by an explosion while conducting an anti-submarine patrol. Seventy-one US Navy sailors were lost in the aftermath of the
The US Naval Sea Systems Command has awarded General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding Co. (NASSCO) a $147.6 million contract for work on the modernization of Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Cowpens (CG 63). This is a “long-term” availability which will include a combination of m
